Any plans to bring out a solar bag?

[cavanaugh]

I suspect that the size of the Tom Bihn operation makes this one impractical, but let's face it: all those bags the other guys are coming out with with PV cells for charging your phone... well, they kinda look like crap. It's a great idea that just needs a touch of Tom Bihn design.

[aiethabell]

You know, this actually sounds good to me, but think about this:

Tom Bihn is in SEATTLE. Now, trust me, being born here, I love solar ovens, solar power, and solar chargers quite a bit, they go with the whole eco-conscious thing. I'd like to be able to use them year-round, but not enough to move out of here. That's the rub. If it was rain-powered you were wanting, it would be an option on every item Tom Bihn sells!

Yet I do hope such a bag is in the pipe; I'd like to use it when I travel. Maybe it could be called 'Summer Wishes' once finished, because that's about the only time we locals would be able to use it...

(And I'm purposefully ignoring the latest 5-day run of sun in February; that was so rare...)

[Darcy]

In the future, you may see bags from us that give you the option of attaching a solar panel. It's unlikely that we will come out with a bag that has a solar panel built-in: we're not sure how long the solar panel would last vs. how long the bag would last. We're guessing the bag will last longer, in which case you'd end up with a cool bag with a broken solar panel. Kind-of like when one purchases a TV/DVD/VCR combo and the DVD part breaks. Most people will throw out the TV/DVD/VCR combo and buy a new one. And that's not a good thing for our environment or our bank accounts.

[cavanaugh]

Very well put, Darcy. I think that modular approach makes a lot of sense. In fact, the first thing I found myself thinking was "Well, I could just buy one separately and attach it..."

Aietha, Tom Bihn is in Seattle, but I'm in California. I believe in buying locally... mostly. But when Tom Bihn bags are so awesome, why wouldn't everyone in the world want one?

Besides, good PV cells will charge in cloudy weather, just more slowly. Some of them are even supposed to charge under fluorescents indoors.

[PM4HIRE]

Cavanaugh:

When you purchase a TB bag you are supporting small business,
as opposed to a large corporate box store that most likely only
sells stuff made in Asia.

[AVService]

Solar panels are actually one type of device that would likely outlast the bag they are part of,even a Bihn Bag.
Solar cells are just a passive device that collects and converts sunlight into voltage for storage in other less reliable devices.
I have used Solar in really bad conditions and they seem impervious to most forms of abuse.

Havinng said that,I would at the most like to see some kind of sleeve that a small panel could slide into and the panel and storage be provided by others.

True Nerdlinger speaking now.

Ed